Elevator



UNTTED STATES.

Patented September 20, 1904.

AUGUST WINIARSKI, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ELEVATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 770,622, dated September 20, 1904.

Application filed April 29, 1904.

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, AUGUST WINIARSKI, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Elevators, of which the fol lowing is a specification.

The object of this invention is to construct a safety device for elevators whereby the same may be stopped in case of an accident to the cables or machinery causing the ele vator to fall; and the invention relates more particularly to the construction of the emergency appliances which are arranged to grip the guideways of the elevator in case of accident, the gripping devices being so arranged that the greater the load carried by the elevator the greater will be the gripping force exerted. By this arrangement the weight carried by the elevator becomes an agent of safety rather than of danger, so that as the possibility of the breaking of the cables is increased by the increase of the load the efficiency of the safety appliances is likewise increased.

The invention is so arranged and constructed that it may be applied to elevators of ordinary construction operating in guideways or shafts of the usual character.

The invention consists in the features of construction and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings illustrating the invention, Figure l is a side View of the upper portion of an elevator-shaft, showing the elevator therein; Fig. 2, an end View of the elevator, showing the emergency appliances in normal position; Fig. 3, a similar view showing the emergency appliances set to prevent the fall of the elevator, and Fig. 4 a detail of the campins.

The elevator is shown as operating within guideways A, each of the guideways being provided with an inwardly-projecting flange a of the usual character, and exteriorly of the guideways on each side are vertical shafts a for the operation of the weights which regulate the emergency appliances. At the top of the shaft is a transversely-extending beam B, from which rises a support 6, under which Serial No. 205,536. (No model.)

is suspended a pulley wheel 7) for carrying the supporting-cable for the elevator. At the ends of the beam and within journal-boxes c are located a pair of pulley-wheels O for mounting the cables which operate the emergencybrake.

The elevator shown consists of a cage D, provided with guide flanges d, adapted to straddle the flanges on the runway, and the cage is supported by means of a yoke d, to which is attached asupporting-cable (Z which passes over the pulley-wheel b and is operated by hoisting machinery of any suitable description.

The emergency-brake which more particularl y forms the subject-matter of the present invention is mounted above the cage and consists of a cross-bar E, at the ends of which are located ears 0, which straddle the guideflanges and hold the operating mechanism in place, and beneath the ears and fixedly attached to the bar E are located down wardlyprojecting plates 6 and 0 the former being the inner plate and the latter the outer plate, and between the plates on each side are arranged transversely-projecting rock-arms F, each of which is mounted on and rigidly carried by a cross-pin f, which is mounted to rock or oscillate between the supporting-ears a and 0 The outer end of each of the pins terminates in a cam-block G, and the camblocks are arranged and located on opposite sides of the guide-flanges and are adapted to be rocked or oscillated by the arms F, so that when the arms are elevated, as shown in Fig. 2, the cam-blocks will be out of contact with the guide-flanges; but when the arms are rocked or oscillated, as shown in Fig. 3, the cam-blocks will be turned to bring their contacting ends toward one another to grip the guide-flanges on opposite sides and stop the elevator. The arms F are pivoted at their ends to links H, which latter are pivoted at their lower ends between ears it on the top of the elevator-cage and near the edge thereof, as best shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

The brake mechanism is operated by means of auxiliary cables I, which are suitably attached thereto, and said auxiliary cables pass over the pulley-wheels C and are provided on their ends with weights z', adapted to travel up and down within the shafts a on opposite sides of the main elevator-shaft, said weights 2' combined being less heavy than the brake mechanism to which they are attached.

The operation of the device will be partially understood by the foregoing description, but may be briefly stated as follows: When the elevator is properly supported, the weight of the brake mechanism will cause the same to rest against the yoke supporting the cage, and when the parts are in normal position the arms F will be outwardly projected at substantially right angles to the guide-flanges within which the elevator travels, in which position the cam-blocks will be out of contact with the guide-flanges, allowing the easy operation of the elevator. If an accident should happen to the machinery or the supporting-cable for the cage should break, the cage will begin to fall rapidly, being unimpeded; but the weights attached to the brake mechanism, thoughless heavy than said mechanism, will retard its fall, causing the cage and brake mechanism to be drawn apart one from the other, thereby drawing down the arms F and throwing the cam-blocks in the position shown in Fig. 3 to bite into the guide-flanges on opposite sides and arrest the fall of the elevator. By forming the arms of substantially equal width with the elevator-cage agreat leverage is obtained, so that the bite or bind of the camblocks will be amply sufficient to retard the fall of the elevator. It will also be apparent that the greater the load carried by the elevator the greater will be the force exerted on the cam-blocks, so that the bite or bind of the cam-blocks will at all times be sufficient to retard the downward progress of the elevator despite the weight carried thereby.

The brake mechanism isone which may be applied to elevators of the ordinary construction, since no change or reorganization of the cage and operating mechanism is necessary.

What I regard as new, and desire to secure by Letters 'Patent, is

1. In an elevator, the combination of guideflanges, a cage slidably mounted between the flanges, a brake mechanism located above and slidably mounted with respect to the cage,

said mechanism consisting of a cross-bar provlded near its ends with two pairs of downwardly-projecting ears, two rock-shafts rotato the brake mechanism, a pulley-wheel over which said cable passes, a weight on the opposite end of the cable lighter than the brake mechanism for allowing the brake mechanism to normally rest upon and be supported by the cage, a main cable supporting the cage, and links connecting the outwardly-projecting arms with the cage for drawing down the arms on the breaking of the main cable, substantially as described.

2. In an elevator, the combination of guideflanges, a cage slidably mounted between the flanges, a main cable supporting the cage, a brake mechanism located above and slidably mounted with respect to the cage, said mechanism consisting of a cross-bar, two pairs of companion rock-shafts, one pair at each end of the cross-bar, means for pivoting the rockshafts to the cross-bar, two pairs of companion cam-blocks secured to the rock-shafts and located on opposite sides of and normally out of contact with the guide-flanges, outwardlyprojecting arms secured to the rock-shafts, links connecting the arms with the cage near the outer sides thereof, two auxiliary cables connected with the brake mechanism, pulleywheels over which said auxiliary cables pass, a weight on the end of each auxiliary cable, the'two weights combined being lighter than the brake mechanism, allowing said mechanism to be normally supported by the cage, and said weights serving to retard the movement of the brake mechanism when unsupported by the cage, substantially as described.

AUGUST WINIARSKI.

Witnesses:

OsoAR W. BOND, WALKER BANNING. 

